Replacing the spring on a Schulmerich A3

[Paul Kinney]

The rubbery spring on my Schulmerich A3 broke. I’m in the process of getting the new spring on. I’ve “disassembled” the bell – the handle and casting are back at church and the clapper assembly is on my desk at home. The old spring was sufficiently broken that it was easy to pull the pieces away from the clapper.

 

But now I’m stuck. I have to get the clapper shaft through the hole in the spring.

 

It looks like one way to do that would be to remove the clapper head – it does have a screw holding it on. But that screw isn’t budging. I brought it home so I could hold the clapper yolk (I think that’s what the assembly at the base of the clapper shaft is called) in a wrench while I try to use a screwdriver on that stubborn screw. No progress yet.

 

I suppose I could also take off the yolk, but doing that looks a lot more daunting than taking off the clapper head.

 

The bells were purchased in the late 1970s and refurbished in the late 1990s. When I ordered the spring (cost of shipping was 4x the cost of the spring) the Schulmerich rep said I would likely be replacing more springs.

 

I seriously doubt the church would come up with the price of a full refurbishment.

 

Sigh. The maintenance videos on the Schulmerich website got only as far as the disassembly, which I’ve already done. The videos were also not easy to find.

 

Paul Kinney

Redford Aldersgate UMC, Redford, MI

[Brian Seemann]

To replace the spring, you will need to remove the clapper head. There is sometimes loc-tite on the clapper screw, so you might need to use some force to get it loose.
The spring will slide back down the clapper shaft (it's a tight fit, the best way is to lay the spring upside down on a flat surface and pushing the shaft through the hole.)

Hope that helps!

[Jeannie]

I'm scanning the instructions I was given to replace the springs on Shullies.  I've done many!  It just is a multi-step process.  Often the trickiest part is the final reconnection with the long screw of the handle with everything else.  There's a washer that goes inside between the casting and the base of the clapper.  It can look like it interferes with the pin, but it doesn't.  With the A3, a second set of hands might help.

Good luck!

Jeannie Cushman

Vermont

[Nicholas Barnard]

Hi Paul,

The way we’ve done it (and AFAIK its the way Monica McGowin has showed us) is to take off the clapper head.

Some of the clapper head screws are attached with loctite or a similar superglue. To break down the loctite use gentle to moderate force to strike the middle of the screw head with the handle of a screw driver, or a similar plastic surface. You’ll likely have to do several times between striking the clapper head with the handle of the screw driver and attempting to turn the screw, before the screw will turn.

I’ve done this before, and while people look at you weirdly, it works!

Nick

(Who likes typing it works!)

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[Paul Kinney]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

A private reply suggested using WD-40. Even with that I had to use wrenches to both hold the yolk and to grab the screwdriver to get extra torque. The new spring is on the clapper shaft. Complete assembly will have to wait until I can get the clapper assembly back to the church. There I’ll attach it to casting and handle.

[TimR]

Yes, that Loctite holds, until the first time you break it loose.  By this time I think I've replaced all my springs at least once and the second time it's easier.

On a stubborn bell I have a small vice that holds the yoke.  I've always been able to get the clapper off with a screwdriver but it takes a lot of force, if it slips I'm pretty sure the screwdriver will come out the back of my other hand.  I guess the handle will stop it when it hits.  I don't have any 3s, yours was probably tighter.

Then before reassembly, I polish the clapper shaft with some emery paper.  I have this theory that any rough edges on the shaft might put a nick in the spring during assembly, and maybe lead to a failure later.  I don't know if that fear is real or not, but it only takes a minute to clean the shaft up, especially the tip.